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Science 10 - Physics Activity 1.1 1. How Did Classical Science Define The Physical World?

Classical science defined the physical world as something that is measurable and perceptible by our senses. However, this definition has limitations as it does not account for factors that cannot be directly sensed or measured. Modern science expanded this definition through model-dependent realism, which recognizes that our understanding of reality is interpreted based on conceptual models rather than being absolute. A good scientific model should be elegant, have few arbitrary elements, agree with and explain all existing observations, and allow predictions that could falsify the model if not proven true.

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464 views2 pages

Science 10 - Physics Activity 1.1 1. How Did Classical Science Define The Physical World?

Classical science defined the physical world as something that is measurable and perceptible by our senses. However, this definition has limitations as it does not account for factors that cannot be directly sensed or measured. Modern science expanded this definition through model-dependent realism, which recognizes that our understanding of reality is interpreted based on conceptual models rather than being absolute. A good scientific model should be elegant, have few arbitrary elements, agree with and explain all existing observations, and allow predictions that could falsify the model if not proven true.

Uploaded by

Abigail Hibaya
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Science 10 – Physics

Activity 1.1

1. How did classical science define the physical world?

Based on classical science, the physical world is defined as something that is measurable and
can be perceived based on our senses.

As stated in the book of Hawking and Mlodinow (2010), classical science believes in the
existence of a real and definite external world whose properties are independent from the
perception of the observer. It was also stated that in classical science, certain objects have
physical properties with well-defined values. Theories are made based on our perceptions
and measurements to describe and explain these said objects. Additionally, there is no
meaningful significance in any distinction between the observer and the observed. This
implies that the object will possess the physical properties even if it is being observed or not.

2. What is the limitation of this definition of the physical world?

Our perception of the physical world, as defined above, is based on what we sense in our
surroundings and also on what we can measure. However, it should be considered that
there are certain things or factors that cannot be detected by our mere senses and
measurements. With this, I would say that the limitation of the definition of the physical
world is that it does not include the factors that cannot be sensed or measured which may
possibly result in making incorrect conclusions and theories. For instance, it is now a known
fact that the earth moves at a constant speed. Due to this, we are unable to sense the
movement of the earth. If we were to make a conclusion based purely on our senses, we
would come up with a theory that the earth is stationary since we cannot feel it moving.

In the book “The Grand Design”, the story about a goldfish in the curved fishbowl may also
perfectly illustrate the limitation of the definition of the physical world. It was stated that
due to the curved sides of the fishbowl, the goldfish inside will have a distorted view of
reality. With this, then we can say that, based on classical science, the physical world is
distorted. However, if we consider the point of view outside the fishbowl, reality may not be
the same. For instance, if a person passes by the fishbowl, the goldfish will see that the
person is walking in a curved line. On the other hand, outside the fishbowl, the person
he/she was walking in a straight line. This proves that the definition of the physical world
brought by classical science is limited with our senses.

3. How did modern science expound on the definition of the physical world?

In the book of Hawking and Mlodinow, they discussed model-dependent realism which is
introduced by modern science to expound the definition of the physical world. With the help
of modern science, we are able to extend our knowledge of the physical world to theories
and representations in order to explain certain events that are observed around us.
According to the two physicists, model-dependent realism is “...based on the idea that our
brains interpret the input from our sensory organs by making a model of the world”
(Hawking and Mlodinow, 2010). This statement implies that reality is interpreted based on
the concepts defined by the models. In other words, observations and scientific inquiries are
explained with the use of models. Model-dependent realism also explains that we cannot be
absolute of anything. True reality is something that we cannot be certain about and thus
models provide approximations to evaluate and explain the events happening in our
surroundings.

4. What are the elements of a good model?

According to Hawking and Mlodinow, the four elements of a good model are:
❖ should be elegant;
❖ should have a few arbitrary elements;
❖ should agrees with and also explains all existing observations; and
❖ should make defined predictions about future observations that can falsify the
model if they are not proven to be true.

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